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Corning by the Book: Utopian or Orwellian? July 12, 2002 By LISA W. FODERARO CORNING, N.Y. - People in other cities may all be reading the same book, but here they are living the same life. And what a charmed life it is: free from nagging, threatening, blaming, criticizing, complaining, bribing - and full of loving, encouraging, accepting and negotiating. At least that's the theory, "choice theory" to be exact: the framework for a happier existence as outlined by William Glasser, a psychiatrist in California and author of some 20 books whose beliefs about human nature have improbably taken root here. Five years ago, Dr. Glasser spoke to a group of teachers in Corning and offered the idea of creating a "quality community" based on his ideas. (There are already nine Glasser "quality schools" around the country, from Charlottesville, Va., to Boulder, Colo.) Corning chose, and in a social experiment that might be utopian or Orwellian, depending on your point of view, Dr. Glasser's theories have seeped into many corners of this city of 12,000, tucked into a corner of the Finger Lakes region. It's not as if smiling people were skipping down the street in an environment out of "The Truman Show." But supporters of the Choice Community Project, as it is called, say there are signs that Corning - person by person, household by household - is gradually becoming a kinder, gentler place. "In essence, we teach people the very necessary skills of how to get along better with the people who matter the most, which is something that is not taught in households across America," said Mary Hayes-O'Brien, the project's director. "We're trying to get all the village members talking the same language." In a nutshell, choice theory says that unsatisfying relationships are the source of almost all crime, addiction, mental illness, family breakdown and school failure. For progress in human relationships, Dr. Glasser says, people need to give up trying to control others and accept that the one thing they can control is their own behavior. So a manager who routinely gives orders might get better results by first asking workers what they think. That may sound painfully obvious, but putting it into practice is another matter. And Dr. Glasser's followers say choice theory offers a way to focus people's attention on doing just that. The superintendent of the Corning-Painted Post public schools, Donald B. Trombley - who called Corning a petri dish for Dr. Glasser's theories - said, "When I think about relationships, I ask myself, "Am I bringing you closer to me or am I pushing you away?' " Dr. Glasser estimates that about 1,000 people in Corning have read his book, "Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom" (Harper Perennial, 1998). So far, about a quarter of the teachers in the district have been trained in choice theory, and all freshmen in one of the city's two high schools learn about it in their "high school success" class. The Corning Senior Center is offering the theory in a support group for women. The Steuben County jail is holding workshops in choice theory for its inmates. The pastor of a Baptist church asks all couples in pre-marriage counseling to read the first five chapters of another Glasser book, "Getting Together and Staying Together." And, in nearby Addison, a parenting workshop lays out the "deadly habits" of criticizing and blaming as well as the "caring habits" of encouraging, negotiating and accepting. Debbie Finamore-Flint, an assistant principal in the Addison Central School District, said she and her husband had benefited from a "peaceful parenting" class that provided a model, based on choice theory, for raising their 3-year-old daughter, Catherine. "The workshops have changed even the language in our home," Mrs. Finamore-Flint said. "Whereas before we might have said, `That was a dumb thing, you know better than that,' we now say, `What are you going to do to make it better?' or `What could you have done to prevent that?' " Then there is Pat Carlineo, 38, who said his life was turned around by the choice-theory workshops he attended in the county jail, where he was sentenced for driving while intoxicated when he was on probation for torching a motorboat he had owned with a former girlfriend. "I realized I was an adult and thought, `Geez, I've got children and when am I going to get a grip on life and set an example,' " said Mr. Carlineo, a guitarist who has formed two bands since leaving jail. "I accept that my life isn't a Disney film," he said, "there are going to be times when I slip up. But I think I have the tools now to deal with everyday pressure." Still, some residents find the whole enterprise a bit suspect, if not silly. Megan O'Neil-Haight, owner of a preschool program in Corning, detects a paradox in the school district's taking on choice theory. A plan for the district calls for the incorporation of the theory into the entire curriculum, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. "To implement that with a broad brush without having been given choices about other programs," she said, "I find that particularly ironic." School officials counter with the argument that choice theory is not being forced on anyone: teachers have been encouraged but not required to receive training. Other criticism has come from parents who worry that giving young people more freedom and control over their lives could lead to trouble. Advocates of choice theory argue, however, that it encourages children to take responsibility for their actions and accept consequences. Gary A. McCaslin, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Painted Post, said of some critics, "They have their radar up." "It's a misunderstanding of what the basic tenets are," he said. "If the only thing you hear is that you can't force people to do things, there are people in the conservative Christian church who will make the leap and say, `Oh, kids can do anything they want,' but that's not choice theory." Most support for the initiative has come from the school district, which has lent office space to the project's few employees. Financial help has come from foundations and from Corning Incorporated, which despite its major role in the community quietly contributed $200,000 but has not asked employees to take part in the training. Some here consider Dr. Glasser a visionary whose views on human nature are profound in their simplicity. Others say he is an idealist whose pop psychology is merely simplistic. Dr. Glasser, who has been quite successful, has one book, "Reality Therapy," published in 1965, that has sold about a million copies. He also founded the William Glasser Institute in Chatsworth, Calif., which trains educators, therapists and others around the world. When asked whether his prescription of the "caring habits" might be construed as na�ve, Dr. Glasser said: "It doesn't go against human nature, but it goes against what everyone believes. I am na�ve. I've made a good living being na�ve, and people listen to me." Most mental-health professionals say there is nothing particularly startling or even original about Dr. Glasser's views on personal responsibility and relationships. Rather, he has popularized and expounded on theories set out decades ago by thinkers like the psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, the psychologist Abraham Maslow and the psychotherapist Carl Rogers. "It's apple pie," said Dr. Frank J. Bourke, a psychologist who serves on the project's steering committee, of Dr. Glasser's theories. `It's mainstream clinical opinion.` Where Dr. Glasser parts company with most of his fellow psychiatrists is on mental illness. He contends that all mental illness is chosen, even schizophrenia and manic depression. And he does not believe in prescribing medication for any psychiatric disorder, which, in this pharmacologic era, is a bit like a surgeon who refuses to use a knife. Dr. Glasser explains the symptoms of schizophrenia as behaviors that an individual chooses when one or more of the four human needs is not being met, and he has amply identified those needs in his writing as freedom, power, fun and a sense of love and belonging. "Choice theory is about basic needs," he said, "and if you can't satisfy them you're going to be unhappy, so the creative parts of our brain create schizophrenia and manic depression." The people behind the Choice Community Project do a delicate dance around Dr. Glasser's views on mental illness, for obvious reasons. "I have stayed in safe territory, territory where I know that choice theory works, which is in schools, home life, married life and prisons," said Ms. Hayes-O'Brien, the project's director. Researchers at Syracuse University's School of Education are studying the Corning project and trying to gauge its success by looking at recidivism rates in the county jail, as well as school-dropout rates and the incidence of domestic violence. But charting improvements in a community's quality of life, a somewhat fuzzy notion to begin with, can be tricky. The city's fortunes rise and fall with those of Corning Incorporated. In the last year, the company has shaken the community with two rounds of layoffs, and the stock price has been in a free fall. "Even in a place like Corning, which is a ways away from any other place, if the quality of life goes up, is it because the company ended up with lots more contracts and invited more people back?" said Phil Doughty, an associate professor in the department of instructional design, development and evaluation at Syracuse University's School of Education. "If people have jobs, they feel good," he said. Still, Dr. Trombley, the superintendent of schools, said fewer students have been suspended since the introduction of choice theory. "School districts," he said, "are probably the slowest organizations to make changes, so when you take an initiative like this, it's a very long process." Dr. Trombley said he would like to see the district's involvement extend well into the future, for "10, 20, 30, 40 years - until you think it no longer has value." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/12/science/12CORN.html?ex=1027562215&ei=1&en=6a000c7dbd5c56ea HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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